Oregonians Driving Less, Riding Transit More
Rising gas prices are pushing more and more Oregon drivers out of their cars. High public transit ridership figures and a reduction in vehicle-miles traveled suggest former drivers are now using transit instead of driving.
"As gasoline creeps toward $4 a gallon, Oregonians are doing three things: buying less fuel, driving fewer miles and, in the Portland metropolitan region, using mass transit more often."
"It's impossible to say just how linked the phenomena are."
"But statewide gasoline sales have dropped to the lowest monthly rate in three years. And Oregon Department of Transportation specialists report that, at a time of expanding population, driving on state highways has held about steady or declined for four years -- even in 2005 and 2006, when Oregon grew jobs at 3 percent a year, far higher than the national average."
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